Call to make wet wipe producers pay for polluting England’s waterways

Water firms claim wet wipes, which shed microplastics and cause blockages, are main source of sewage pollution

Wet wipe producers should be charged to remove their pollution from England's waterways, the author of a government review into reforming the sector has said.

Sewage has been a critical factor in the devastating pollution of our waterways, but other sources of pollution include microplastics, consumer products such as wet wipes, and the byproducts of modern manufacturing, such asPfas (forever chemicals"), as well as fertiliser and pesticides from farming. Many of these have been linked to harmful effects on human health and the natural environment.